Aug 1, 2009

Highlights - Long Beach Tournament, Day 1

A few highlights (competition & general) from Saturday, Long Beach DB Festival:

Very, very proud of all boats performance today - everyone came packing heat!Especially those that paddled in heats w/ sideways starts (@ least a handful). Composure, pride, and ability to mentally overcome obstacles shone through as you handled business. Props to the officials for rectifying the microphone / speaker inaudibility issues.

WOMEN overcame a side-wise start to power through to an aggressive, pull-like-men 2nd place finish - earning a Bye in the afternoon Women's heats and qualifying directly to the Women's "A" division finals - a great victory in itself! Strong competition awaits early Sun morning - exciting!

MEN were also stellar in qualifying for the Open Division "A" Finals (i.e., likely the fastest crews all weekend) after a solid early AM heat. Our Dudes closed off the day w/ a great run in the Finals Sat afternoon - & although we likely finished off the medal stand - the heat was exciting, close, and the men put in a great feeling set. Nothing but pride. Opportunities to race against great competition is what we want & cherish.

MASTERS also had a bit of an adventure as despite being in initially great position @ the start line, we had to reposition and the race ended up getting called while we were sideways. Masters put in a good set regardless & will be no doubt coming for blood in Sunday's finals.